The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) has announced that it has extended Angus Eve's tenure as the Head Coach of the Senior Men's National Team until March 2024.
Following Eve’s instrumental role in leading the team to a well-deserved promotion to League A in the Concacaf Nations League, he is now poised to guide the team through their upcoming challenges. On September 7, 2023, the team will face off against Curacao at the iconic Hasely Crawford Stadium. Subsequently, they will embark on a journey to clash with El Salvador on September 10, 2023.
Reflecting on this extension, Robert Hadad, Chairman of the Normalization Committee, expressed his enthusiasm, saying, "Angus has injected the role with unwavering stability, exceptional quality, and a profound sense of belief, all of which have resonated within the team."
He further added, "Throughout the journey, we've confronted various challenges as a united force, and it is our firm conviction that Angus is the ideal individual, embodying the right character, to lead us confidently into League A."
Eve himself shared his thoughts on this honor, stating, "Continuing to serve my country and contribute positively in this capacity is an immense privilege."
In conjunction with Eve's contract extension, the TTFA has initiated the formation of a Technical Advisory Panel, which will play a pivotal role in supporting Eve. The identities of the members comprising this panel will be conclusively determined and subsequently unveiled within the upcoming days.
Head coach of Trinidad & Tobago’s Soca Warriors, Angus Eve, has described his team as “going through a rebuilding stage” after bowing out of the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup in the USA on Sunday.
The Trinidadians secured a comfortable 4-0 win over St. Kitts and Nevis in their first game of the group stage before suffering a crushing 1-4 defeat to Jamaica then ending their campaign with a 0-6 hammering at the hands of the defending champions and hosts.
Eve, in a post-match press conference, acknowledged a gap in skill between his players and those on the teams they lost to before explaining how that gap can be closed.
“We need to have our players being exposed at the highest level and consistently play football at a high level,” he said.
“Most of the guys don’t get the exposure on the outside and consistently play at a high level, because you have to remember that our league just returned after three years. The CFU used to have competitions. You can see that St. Kitts are in the same boat as us receiving a number of goals,” he added.
Eve also criticized the fitness level of his players, noting that getting the players fit is a job for their clubs rather than the national team.
“A national team coach can’t get the players fit when they come here. They have to come from their clubs with that fitness so your job is now to put them in a formation that will get them to play well.”
“A lot of times, as you can see, we were lacking fitness,” Eve added.
Despite all this, Eve did say he sees progress in some areas, specifically in the standard of the tournament.
“The tournament is improving all the time. We were here in 2021 and we are progressing. When you look at the French-Caribbean teams, they can bring in players who are playing in France and plug those holes,” he said.
Trinidad and Tobago's Head coach Angus Eve intends to lift the mood of his dejected players, as they aim to keep their Concacaf Gold Cup campaign alive after being outclassed by Jamaica in a 1-4 loss that has basically eliminated the Soca Warriors from the tournament.
Trinidad and Tobago's chances of claiming one of two spots from Group A evaporated thanks to goals from Demarai Gray (14th and 28th), Leon Bailey (17th) and Dujuan Richards (90+2). Andre Rampersad (49th) pulled one back for the twin island republic.
Angus and his team still have a glimmer of hope of progressing to the knockout stages, but it will require an unlikely win or draw against powerhouse and favourites United States in their final group fixture on July 2, while hoping newcomers St Kitts and Nevis also pull off an unlikely win over Jamaica by a wide margin.
United States, who hammered St Kitts and Nevis 6-0 currently heads the group on four points, same as Jamaica but with a healthy six-goal difference to Reggae Boyz three. Trinidad and Tobago are third on three points, while the Sugar Boys on their Gold Cup debut are yet to earn a point.
"We just have to pick the guys up, the dressing room is very dejected this is the first match we have lost in about nine for the season and we don't normally concede goals but I thought that the second half when we came back on I thought that we were really in the game and we created a lot of chances," said Angus, who rued what he thought was a handball against Jamaica's defender Damion Lowe.
In real time, it seemed the ball did in fact come off Lowe's hand and Mexican referee Fernando Guerrero thought so too when he initially awarded the penalty. However, by the VAR, the replay showed that the ball came off Lowe's head.
"I think the handball should have been a penalty. Unfortunately, we don't get to see it (replays) on the pitch anymore, at one point we had a tablet where we could see it. From where we were, the hand was in an unnatural position, but it was a penalty and then it wasn't a penalty, we didn't get any explanation as to why not," Angus argued.
Going into the second contest with a 5-4-1 defensive formation after a comprehensive 3-0 win over St Kitts and Nevis in their opener, Trinidad and Tobago seemingly had all their bases covered, but things didn't pan out as Angus expected.
Their defence was easily and consistently broken down by the Jamaicans who were quick to press the ball and the Soca Warriors were at times caught ball watching. In fact, Gray was left unmarked on both occasions when he scored and the one attempt Trinidad and Tobago made at pushing a high line, they were beaten by a timely run from Bailey who went on to beat Nicklaus Frenderup in a one-one-one situation.
The Soca Warriors did come into their own in the second have and looked threatening in open play, though they were unable to get anymore that Rampersad's cheeky heel finish.
Aside from possibly being star-struck, Angus believes there was some positives to work with which he is hoping they can improve on ahead of Sunday's encounter.
"I thought the second half we were way more positive it seems like we settled down better credit to Jamaica, the type of players that they have and the quality that they have in the team, we don't have that type of quality, so it was always going to be a struggle.
"But when you give away soft goals...I thought we gave away a lot of soft goals very early and we had to dig ourselves out of a hole. I think we also started really slow, but as I said I take full blame for it, the aim was to keep the game as tight as possible in the first half so we could go out and express ourselves a little bit more in the second half, but we just didn't defend well," Angus explained.
That said, the tactician gave some insight to his decision not to start three of his best players in what was a vital fixture.
"Triston Hodge had a tight hamstring, Kevin Molino is just coming back into football, and he complained that he was really tired so he didn't feel like he could start and then Auvray had some little knocks and bruises. So, we made the three changes, we were trying to keep the game a little bit tight in the first half so we could probably get those players on.
"So, we had the plan from the time they got the goals, unfortunately we seem to be a bit nervous, I think big name (players) probably scare us and we made some bad mistakes. But I take full blame for the result because I am the coach of the team," he ended.
Demarai Gray had a birthday to remember, as he got on the score sheet twice to lead Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz to a 4-1 win over Caribbean rivals Trinidad and Tobago in their second Concacaf Gold Cup Group A fixture, at Citypark in St Louis, Missouri on Wednesday.
Gray, making his second appearance for the Reggae Boyz, celebrated his 27th birthday in style when he scored his first goal as a Jamaican international in the 14th minute and added a second in the 28th minute.
The Everton winger’s second came after Leon Bailey (17th) doubled the lead, while Chelsea-bound rising sensation Dujuan Richards, who was an 82nd-minute substitute, capped the victory with his first senior team goal in the 90+2 minute. With that, the 17-year-old became the youngest ever goalscorer in Gold Cup history.
Trinidad and Tobago got what turned out to be a consolation through Andre Rampersad in the 49th minute.
The win –which was also Heimir Hallgrimsson’s first since taking the reins as Jamaica’s Head coach late last year –provisionally saw the Boyz to the top of the standing on four points, one ahead of Trinidad and Tobago.
Group favourites United States, on a point, were leading newcomers St Kitts and Nevis, without a point, 4-0 at half-time in the late kickoff.
The much-anticipated clash between Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago
Was the first international men’s game to be played at the 22,000-plus capacity stadium and though it wasn’t the most attractive or entertaining encounter, the spectators that turned out were well treated to five goals.
It was initially projected to be a close contest, especially as the Soca Warriors Head coach Angus Eve opted for a defensive 5-4-1 formation that was expected to prove difficult for the Reggae Boyz to break down.
But it became clear early that the objective of the formation would prove futile, as Michail Antonio dispossessed a defender a played a cheeky pass off to send Bobby Reid on his way. However, Reid took an unwanted touch and later hit the ball in the side netting.
The Soca Warriors briefly enjoyed a good passage of possession where they looked threatening in open play but couldn't create any meaningful opportunity and later found themselves behind.
In the 14th minute, a decent build up by the Reggae Boyz ended with Bailey finding an unmarked Gray, who buried his right-footed effort in the left corner beyond the slightly advanced, Frenderup in goal for Trinidad and Tobago.
Bailey doubled the lead three minutes later when he timed his run to perfection to latch on to a long pass from Joel Latibeaudiere and finished with aplomb in a one-one-one situation with Frenderup. The goal was initially flagged as offside, but that decision was later overturned on by VAR.
The Soca Warriors tried to play their game but were hardly allowed any room to cause any problems for Jamaica’s defence and, as such, only absorbed consistent pressure.
They found themselves 3-0 down before the half-hour mark after Kevon Lambert won possession and found Antonio. The West Ham man then slipped by a defender and placed a pass on a platter for the wide-opened Gray to complete one of the easiest finishes of his career.
As the score remained unchanged at the break, the half-time team talk by Angus, coupled with Jamaica's defensive frailties, saw Trinidad pulling one back four minutes into the resumption.
Captain Levi Garcia got away from Jamaica’s debutant Dishon Bernard and drove a pass in for Rampersad to apply a back heel finish beyond Andre Blake, while under pressure from two defenders.
Still, the Jamaicans continued to apply consistent pressure and created numerous opportunities to add to their tally, but those were squandered due to both faulty shooting and poor decision-making.
It wasn’t until close to the end that they got another when Richards’s shot from a distance took a wicked deflection and sailed past the flat-footed Frenderup, who had no chance.
Teams: Jamaica -Andre Blake, Damion Lowe, Kemar Lawrence (Dexter Lembikisa 46th), Bobby Reid (Shamar Nicholson 62nd), Joel Latibeaudiere, Kevon Lambert, Demarai Gray, Leon Bailey (Dujuan Richards 82nd), Michail Antonio (Corey Burke 77th), Dishon Bernard, Javain Brown (Daniel Johnson 62nd)
Subs not used: Coniah Boyce-Clarke, Jahmali Waite, Kaheem Parris, Jonathan Russell, Adrian Mariappa, Amari’i Bell,
Booked: Brown (9th), Lowe (75th)
Trinidad & Tobago: Nicklas Frenderup, Alvin Jones, Sheldon Bateau, Kareem Moses, Aubrey David, Shannon Gomez (Molik Khan 76th), Malcolm Shaw, Andre Rampersad (Kevin Molino 63rd), Ajani Fortune (Kaile Auvray 46th), Levi Garcia, Neveal Hackshaw
Subs not Used: Marvin Phillip, Denzil Smith, Leland Archer, Luke Singh, Triston Hodge, Ryan Telfer, Joevin Jones, Real Gill, Kadeem Corbin
Booked: Hackshaw (5th), Bateau (41st), Jones (73rd)
Referee: Fernando Guerrero (Mexico)
Assistant referees: Enrique Bustos (Mexico); Jorge Sanchez (Mexico)
Fourth Official: Reon Radix (Grenada)
Var: Benjamin Pineda (Costa Rica)
Avar1: Ricardo Montero (Costa Rica)
Canada-born defender Luke Singh is set to make his international debut for Trinidad and Tobago after being drafted as replacement for Daniel Phillips for the Concacaf Gold Cup, which gets underway on Saturday.
The Soca Warriors, who will bow into Group A action on Sunday against first-timer St Kitts and Nevis at the DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, lost the Scottish-based Phillips to an injury, which dealt somewhat of a blow to Angus Eve's squad that only includes two out and out strikers in Kadeem Corbin and Malcolm Shaw.
It is understood that Reports indicate Phillips, a midfielder, who represents Scottish Premiership outfit St Johnstone, sustained a Grade one quadriceps injury during the second half of the Soca Warriors practice match against Haiti recently and will be out of action for approximately three weeks.
As such, the 22-year-old Singh, who is currently on loan with Canadian Premier League club Atletico Ottawa from Toronto FC, found favour with the coaching staff and joined the team on Thursday with expectations high that the towering defender, standing over six-foot tall, will add value to the Soca Warriors charge.
Trinidad and Tobago will start favourites for Sunday's fixtures scheduled for 2:30pm, having defeated St Kitts and Nevis 2-0 in their lone meeting during the World Cup qualifiers in 2021.
Their group also includes reigning seven-time champion United States and title aspirants Jamaica, who will lock horns on Saturday at Soldier Field in Chicago at 8:30pm.
The twin island republic secured their spot in this year’s tournament after initial qualifiers Nicaragua, was booted for using an ineligible player during their 1-1 Nations League stalemate, which aided the qualification process.
Trinidad and Tobago squad: Marvin Phillip, Denzil Smith, Nicklaus Frenderup, Aubrey David, Sheldon Bateau, Luke Singh, Leland Archer, Kareem Moses, Shannon Gomez, Alvin Jones, Triston Hodge, Joevin Jones, Ryan Telfer, Ajani Fortune, Kevin Molino, Real Gill, Neveal Hackshaw, Andre Rampersad, Kaile Auvray, Molik Khan, Kadeem Corbin, Levi Garcia, Malcolm Shaw
After the frantic final minutes counted down, the split points left the Trinidad and Tobago squad, as well as Guatemala’s, eliminated. Despite the elimination, both teams can be proud of their effort.
After an injury during warmups, Trinidad and Tobago were forced to adjust their lineup, replacing defender Neveal Hackshaw with Jelani Peters.
In the 12th minute, T&T right back Alvin Jones rampaged up the field on a quick counterattack then crossed to Reon Moore. Moore made a run on the right side of the goal and hit a hard, low shot past young Guatemalan goalkeeper Kenderson Navarro that found the goalpost and bounced in for the goal.
Attempting to manage the game, Trinidad and Tobago showed patience, especially in allowing Guatemala to take rushed shots from outside, but closing them down effectively and at times physically when any players entered the box.
In the second half, as Guatemala fought harder to find the equalizer, Trinidad and Tobago’s defense cracked under the pressure from Guatemala in the 77th minute, when Ceballos served in a corner kick. Gerardo Gordillo rose high in the box to meet the ball, heading it in well past Marvin Phillip, the Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper and captain.
The tenor of the game changed as both teams, hungry for an outright win, traded half-chances on both ends of the field. T&T's Jones had a shot go off the post in the best possibility for either team.
After the frantic final minutes counted down, the split points left the Trinidad and Tobago squad, as well as Guatemala’s, eliminated. Despite the elimination, both teams can be proud of their effort.
Trinidad and Tobago manager Angus Eve, the team’s most-capped player in their history, knew the team didn’t completely control its destiny in Group A but believed his squad could hold their head high no matter the outcome if they played well.
“We are very confident,” Eve said.
The team rewarded his belief, playing a smart match to hold an early advantage for most of the game. Yet Guatemala was brave in its own right, fighting back to find an equalizer and ensure they left the Gold Cup with at least one positive result. As Guatemala’s coach, Rafael Loredo said before kickoff, “If we want to grow, we need to have international competition.”
It is both sides' participation and matches like this that make the Gold Cup special.
French Guiana will be out to tame resurgent Trinidad and Tobago when the two sides meet in the Second Round of the 2021 Gold Cup Prelims on Tuesday at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The winner will advance to the Gold Cup group stage and slot into Group A along with Mexico, El Salvador and Curacao.
But first things first, a tricky test awaits for both sides.
Tuesday’s contest will mark French Guiana’s first match of the Prelims and their first official match since their group finale in League B of the 2019-20 Concacaf Nations League, a 3-1 win over Saints Kitts and Nevis in November 2019.
Nevertheless, with a team boasting many European-based players, including forward Sloan Privat, who scored one of his country’s two goals in the 2017 Gold Cup, and defenders Kevin Rimane, formerly of Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain, and Stade Brestois 29’s Ludovic Baal, plus Boulogne goalkeeper Simon Lugier, Les Yono Dokos have the pieces in place for a good performance.
While Trinidad and Tobago’s campaign in Concacaf World Cup Qualifying for Qatar 2022 ended in a disappointing fashion in the First Round, the Soca Warriors are enjoying a resurgence under Interim Head Coach Angus Eve.
Trinidad and Tobago returned to their high-flying ways in a 6-1 triumph over Montserrat in the First Round of the Prelims, with Kevin Molino, Marcus Joseph and Judah Garcia among the goal-scorers.
A win against French Guiana would provide a massive momentum boost going into the Gold Cup group stage.
Former Trinidad and Tobago midfielder Angus Eve is to be the next head coach of his country’s national side following the dismissal of head coach Terry Fenwick on Friday.
The 49-year-old Eve will, according to sources, have Reynold Carrington as his assistant coach, Clayton Ince as his goalkeeper’s coach and Adarayll John as team trainer. Richard Piper will be the team manager. He replaces Terry Fenwick, who was fired on Friday, a week after Trinidad and Tobago’s 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign ended with a goalless draw against the Bahamas.
However, Eve and his staff will have to hit the ground running as he will only have the CONCACAF Gold Cup qualifying matches to prove his mettle. His contract runs until August 31, 2021.
"I am really honoured and privileged to have this opportunity to continue to represent my country," Eve said. "I'm committed to provide a lift to Trinidad and Tobago, especially in this time where we are battling so many different adversities at the same time."
Normalisation Committee Chairman Robert Haddad expressed his gratitude to the outgoing coaching staff.
"We thank the previous coaching staff for their commitment and efforts. We now look forward to the Gold Cup competition and wish Angus all the best. We will do our very best to support him and the team."
Under Fenwick, Trinidad and Tobago, playing in Group F in World Cup qualifying, defeated Guyana 3-0, drew 1-1 with Puerto Rico and then 0-0 with the Bahamas before rebounding to defeat St Kitts & Nevis 2-0. However, it was not enough for Trinidad and Tobago to advance to the next round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.
Prior to taking the head coaching job, Eve was coaching at Club Sando in the TT Pro League and at Naparima College in the SSFL.
Eve represented his country 117 times between 1994 and 2005 scoring 34 goals.
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